17 June 2010

KGNU/BBC Panel Discussion on Climate Change in Boulder

KGNU Independent Community Radio and the British Broadcasting Service (BBC) will present a panel discussion on climate change on June 24 at Unity of Boulder. Jon Stewart, host of BBC’s Science in Action, which airs as part of KGNU’s Science Program, will moderate a panel of researchers from the University of Colorado and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) who will talk about how the world has dealt with climate change in the wake of last year’s Copenhagen conference.

The panel will feature prominent climate change experts Peter Backlund, Caspar Ammann and Lawrence Buka from NCAR and Roger Pielke Jr. from the University of Colorado. Journalist Leslie Dodson from KGNU’s program How On Earth will join them to discuss the science behind climate change and the importance of conveying its urgency to governments and the public at large. The panel will also take questions from the audience.

The event will begin at 7 p.m. at Unity of Boulder, located at 2455 Folsom St. Admission is free. Call KGNU’s Denver studio at 303-825- 5468 for more information.

The occasion may give Roger Junior an opportunity to disseminate an intellectual vaccination against alarmism, and to make a call for a more sensible discussion on this important issue. I do not know whether the issue of science credibility would arise, but it also has the potential for valuable interventions by Roger Jr.

Quite a coup, Roger. You seem very friendly with the BBC. I'm sure it will be broadcast. I can record the audio when it is.

"to discuss the science behind climate change and the importance of conveying its urgency to governments and the public at large. "

Sounds like a typical BBC set up to me. I'll reserve judgement until it happens obviously, but the BBC is the biggest and smartest media organisation on earth. Funded by a government mandated license fee.

I am sure Roger will do exactly that, and do it very well. However, the producer and his researchers will be aware of the full range of his views on decarbonisation.

I emailed a famous BBC producer a year ago, objecting to a very clever government backed stitch up on an issue that has been discussed on this forum. He asked to interview me for a follow up programme.

I should have said no, but it was done in a challenging way. I deliberately set parameters I suspected he wouldn't agree to, because even I (with no television) know his work. There is no way I would ever contribute to it . BBC producers are very smart people.

Hector M writes "I do not know whether the issue of science credibility would arise, but it also has the potential for valuable interventions by Roger Jr."

Perhaps. But what about engaging other criticism too? There's no sign of it from the panel chosen.

From the floor - if questions are entertained - I would ask: when are you going to use multiple hypothesis testing, enforce open sharing of data and methods so that replication can be done, and error correction so that you can honestly tell the skeptics that the science stands up against substantive criticism.